The Real World

Launching this column on anthropology and public policy has prompted some interesting comments from colleagues on the challenges we face in making ourselves effective and competent actors in the policy domain. In addition, the SfAA's 1997 annual meeting in Seattle included a forum on increasing our policy effectiveness, which brought together representatives from a number of the organization's policy-oriented groups, as well as other knowledgeable colleagues. These groups included the AIDS Advisory Committee, Indian Affairs Committee, Human Rights and Environment group, the Aging and Disability topical interest group (TIG), and the Intellectual Property Rights TIG. Among the questions raised at that forum: How can we learn from each other's successes and failures in policy advocacy? What activities, strategies, and techniques have been particularly effective in communicating an anthropological perspective to policy makers or potential allies? What steps could the SfAA take to become a better (and better-known) resource to agencies and groups seeking an anthropological perspective on a particular issue

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